Families in Portland are wondering if their city representatives are going to do anything about the homeless population crisis that they say has been getting out of control in their area.
It has been reported that authorities are getting numerous reports each day coming in about 100s of different homeless camp sites around the region.
If they close one in a certain area then it might not take long for it to move down the road to a new location nearby, or simply pop back up in the same spot.
Cost of homeless camps
Those camps can result in hundreds to thousands of complaints, cost tens of thousands of dollars in clean-up and security etc, and fuel a wide variety of criminality in the community too.
Businesses can also lose money too from customers who no longer want to shop while having to go through dealing with those risks nearby. Some businesses have also expressed their frustration with alleged trespassers.
More affordable housing options
More recently people in Portland have seen homeless pods being left in certain areas and they've been asking where they might be coming from. The homeless pods on wheels have sprung up recently in the area and it has prompted many homeowners to ask who is behind the crafting of those pods. It seems one individual has been creating them for people living on the streets but critics say that it isn't a serious solution and they've criticized authorities for ignoring the problem at the city level and shuffling it off to someone else to deal with .
One recent study has suggested that the housing market might be the root cause of the issue of homelessness in the area.
The avg rent in Portland is higher than the national average, it sits around $1,700 per month. The high prices combined with the short selection of affordable options is what has made the homeless situation worse according to that recent Homelessness is a Housing Problem study.
Some homeless individuals have taken to living in spaces that don't belong to them and engaging in activities like squatting, taking over vacant homes in the area, and that isn't sitting well with homeowners. They are worried about the security and the risk. Some have also questioned how quickly things might change for squatting rules if officials themselves became victim to squatting and were suddenly told that they didn't have any right to their property.
Over the last several years the vacancies with commercial real estate in Portland have soared, people are leaving because of the problems that are not being dealt with. As well, it has frequently been reported that the homeless crisis is worsening crime in the area. The crisis is absorbing a great deal of city resources in multiple ways and ignoring the problem while it grows is not a viable solution.
pics:
pixabay
Sources:
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/north-portland-makeshift-homeless-village-rent-businesses/283-4e0aa5a5-fa46-4bbb-9704-7ac1a7c6d5a3
https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/where-are-portlands-homeless-pods-structures-coming-from/
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/new-study-housing-market-root-cause-homelessness/283-819457a7-9606-42c6-9cb3-62bd25661d2b
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/investigations/portland-gun-violence-increasingly-impacting-homeless/283-22837453-80bf-4d99-927e-6ec07469af5b
Rent is high almost everywhere in the world, but $1700 USD per month is the craziest I have heard so far.
Affordable rent prices and properly paying jobs could provide a proper home to many people, who are currently homeless. This would be the best solution to the homeless problem.